I was in the mood for this series and what the earlier volumes provided, but it seemed like most of what I enjoyed has run its course. Now it's feeling very drawn out, repetitive, and just plain overstaying its welcome.
It was good while it lasted and I got a couple of solid laughs from the series, but I think this is where I disembark.
When an evil lord goes to military school, the voluminous opportunities to overindulge in bribery scandals, instigate interagency corruption, and garner a flock of pretty ladies are sure to consume all of one's time, right? Somehow, Liam Sera Banfield keeps screwing up all of his best-laid plans at becoming a scourge of the cosmos. Not all of his plans go awry, but most of them do, and when that happens, there's a feud to settle, a mech prototype to test, and a clumsy mechanic in a swimsuit groveling at his feet.
I'M THE EVIL LORD OF AN INTERGALACTIC EMPIRE v4 continues the steady drip of situational irony that ensures Liam's ongoing success. The volume teeters, however, with how it invests in following the young man as he completes what amounts to vocational school. This novel probably could have told the same story with one-quarter fewer pages. On the plus side, waiting on the wings of Liam's lazy days in military training, enemies are roused into action and rivals surface will ill intent. Everyone is scheming to take out House Banfield, although mostly corrupt nobles with deep connections to overpowered pirates.
In any case, the current novel covers roughly a dozen years, including Liam's stint through the Algrand Empire Imperial Military Academy (six years), practical armed forces training (two years), and patrol work in the army reserve force (four years). The novel is structured such that much of these efforts are rudimentary. Narratively speaking, this is a deliberate move on the part of the author (e.g., Liam is vocally bored), because the final few chapters of the book thrust the young noble into a massive conflict, featuring tens of thousands of ships. The wild and directionless chaos of the book's culmination is awkward but fun. The buildup and the payoff aren't equal; but in a novel series in which the lead character is fated to subvert expectations (often by accident), one should anticipate nothing less.
EVIL LORD v4 splits its time between Liam's work at military school and the sordid affairs of House Berkely. Casimilo Berkeley, a baron, recruits all sorts of baddies to scheme up plans to stamp out House Banfield. Hundreds of thousands of ships? Underhanded alliances with pirates? Paying off delinquent nobles to fill out the ranks? The intrigue offers a fun, if predictable glimpse into the life of an incompetent foe. The novel's real fun rests in how Liam unwittingly subverts each of House Berkeley's efforts. Building up his private fleet of soldiers? Disrupting pirated shipping lanes? Putting delinquent nobles in their place?
However amusing the scenario of two competing noble houses sharpening their blades upon one another's territory, one must first acknowledge that much of this conflict manifests in the abstract. In short, the conflict between House Berkeley and House Banfield all comes down to paperwork: plans and plots and shenanigans that come about not through war-room strategizing but from a disciplined economic heatmap. EVIL LORD v4 reveals one of the novel series' inherent faults: Due to the accidental nature of Liam's fortune, readers are continuously deprived of the intrigue native to legitimate strategy. Defeating conspiracy with convenience may be fun, but it's also excruciatingly contrived.
One might argue the author sought to counter-navigate the generic inevitability of Liam's clash with House Berkeley with an occasional aside affirming the young man's awareness of the rival noble, but readers are granted multiple helping hands throughout the volume. For example, Tia and Marie, the dual knights in Liam's service, when not conducting brilliant military maneuvers, hilariously scrap and fight every chance they get. The author encourages readers to overlook the former (serious, plot-driven events) for the latter (comical, character-defining episodes). Blink and miss the fact that Tia is a superb operations strategist. Blink and miss how Marie's mech has four arms that wield indestructible energy axes and massive chainsaw beam swords.
Nevertheless, readers can take solace in the plodding nature of Liam's occasional bouts of underhanded kindness. When the young noble is approached by a pair of crafty merchants seeking self-enrichment, Liam shrugs his shoulders and brings them onboard. When the drunk heir of a marquis badmouths Amagi, everyone's favorite android lady, it's quite clear the man will not live to see another day. When Nias accidentally reveals she's wearing "plain and practical" boy shorts, rather than frilly and feminine underthings, and Liam blushes, readers are reminded that the inelegant factory engineer is the chief designer of the young noble's most deliciously brutal weapons of war.
Liam enters military academy, ready to get his mandatory military service out of the way. But his dreams of a cushy military posting might have issues, as House Berkley is stepping up their efforts to be rid of him once and for all.
Like the earlier books, this is a zany adventure. Liam can't help but get himself into trouble, since he's determined to act however he pleases, but generally his own competence and his absurdly competent subordinates are enough to handle things. This time, though, he's getting reminders from all sides that his usual methods aren't necessarily the best methods.
I like how the war is shown to ramp up through several years. Several different groups really hate Liam by now, so them joining forces feels like an appropriate escalation. Liam may not be gaining as many allies as quickly, but the ones he is picking up can pull their own weight and then some.
The meeting with the merchants was particularly fun. Liam rejects the "good guy" front they tried to meet at first. And when they see his true nature, these profit-driven entrepreneurs only respect him more.
On the flip side, I still really dislike how Eila pretends to be Liam's friend solely to creep on him---and keeps dragging more and more people into her "special services" pictures. That others in the cast (namely his knights) are completely obsessed with him is unfortunate, but their efforts are also frequently mocked by the story itself. The crowning moment comes when Wallace, of all people, asks Eila: “Do you ‘fans’ realize how disrespectful you’re being to these real people?”
So I do hope Eila gets her dreams (and hidden cameras) crushed sooner rather than later.
Overall, though, it's still a pretty entertaining ride. If you liked the earlier stories, this one keeps going strong. I rate this book Recommended.
Every book in this series is a wonder to read. The turns may seem obvious from miles away, but how they get there is always quite novel and surprising. I recommend this series to any looking for a surprisingly heartwarming story about a supreme villain in an intergalactic empire, who saves the day and brings peace and happiness to almost all who follow him. Thoroughly enjoyed and will definitely read again.
I finished out the very end of May 2025 by reading _I'm the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire!_ light novels 1-8 (i want more more) and the manga series 1-5. the anime version is in this Spring 2025 season "Ore wa Seikan Kokka no Akutoku Ryoushu". The series is laugh out loud funny (well silly), has AI maids, Mecha, lots of mecha, "The Way of the Flash", evil gods... and well, i like it (a lot).
Really enjoying this series. The big battle at the end was awsome. Can't wait to see more, though it almost felt like the series was ending, it then picked back up!
I cannot express how obsessed I am with this series and this book was a masterpiece!! Liam is absolutely fantastic and his interactions with the guide is hilarious. I am so glad Avid made an appearance because I was missing him. Really looking forward to what happens next.
The novel was only has half has many illustrations has previously books and it toke a while for the big battles to happen but the author uses famous giant robot sci-if troupe to give the story great fight scenes to keep it interest,
Someone made fun of this dude's robot girlfriend so he murdered them and then had their entire family assassinated. I wish I had that kind of money. Someone needs to invent robot girlfriends so I have a reason to take part in capitalism already.
Another school arc. This series has been treading water over what is almost the exact same plot ever since volume 2, and it looks like it continues to volume 5 at least. He goes to yet another school (thankfully it's quickly glossed over this time), he fights yet another upstart noble that he inevitably crushes, everything falls in his lap, blah blah, same as the previous couple volumes. When I was about to finish the volume, I said to myself "is the school arc finally over?", only for him to say that college is next. I'm on the verge of dropping this series, which is a shame because I really enjoyed the first couple of volumes. But it feels like the author has no idea where to take the story, or what he's even doing.
I noticed that he's also the author of Otome Mob, which I also dropped, so I guess it's not surprising that I might end up dropping this series, too...
After the boarding school to learn the basics of what it means to be a noble, Liam enlists the military academy, all to become the best evil overlord there is. Through bribes, skill and a bit of luck he quickly makes a name for himself. There is still an old enemy to deal with though, and he keeps making new ones through his uncompromising ways on the path of villainhood (and stopping wasteful spending in the army).
Volume 4 is an entertaining story with funny characters that fit the tone of the story perfectly, whether it is Liam's misconceptions on what a true villain does (even if at times it is a bit grinchy), the bickering Tia and Marie or the poor Guide. It is silly and a bit over the top, but that is to be expected. I am curious where things are going though, now that Liam's power and influence is on the rise...